French Connection

I am trying to learn French again. I tried in Elementary School, I tried again in college after a failed attempt at Spanish, and now I am trying again with the help of a friend's books and some books I found at Half Price Books last weekend. I am dedicated to this now, partially because this is my third attempt, and partially because I am going to go to Paris sometime in my lifetime.

So far, not so good.

I have tried reading children's books in French and so far, I really think I need to work on my vocabulary. I tried to figure things out by what things sounded like they should mean since my French Dictionary was at work, but that proved to be a silly idea. Freud would have all sorts of ideas about my psyche if he heard what I thought these children's books were saying, so I have gone with a more basic approach.

I tried a French Verbs Flip Book which has all sorts of verbs, arranged in alphabetical order, in a handy, conjugated order. Sounds perfect, right? Well, I have gotten through the "A"s, and my retention has not been that good. I know now, though, that if someone uses a verb in French that begins with an "A", they could be destroying something, coming close to something, giving something, or playing the accordion. Then again, they might be using a word not in my handy flip book, and I would still be out of luck.

I am not going to give up, though. I figure that if I study my French every time I nurse my daughter, I will probably become an expert by the time I raise enough money to go to Paris.

(Speaking and understanding spoken French, however...)